[nagdu] Carrying

[Debby Phillips]

Hi Tracy, well, not sure about the paper towel, but you could 
find something worse.  My fourth dog was a Golden.  One day I was 
waiting at the bus stop, and one of my bus buddies asked me if 
the green ball lying in front of me was mine.  I picked it up, 
and it was Artie's ball.  He had carried it from our house, 
walked for several blocks with it in his mouth, and crossed a 
very major street.  Lol.  So I don't know.  I think I'd still go 
for the basket muzzle.  Cleo loved to grab stuff too, and she did 
have to use a basket muzzle.  She was very quick, and grabbed a 
skewer with meat on it.  That was the last straw.  There were 
some instructors from my school at a convention and they found 
the basket muzzle, actually had a couple with them.  They 
measured Cleo's face, and voila, basket muzzle.  She actually got 
better about grabbing stuff after she had to wear it for awhile.  
When she found out that it was pointless to try and grab stuff, 
she stopped.  Then I slowly gave her more freedom.  If she 
behaved herself and didn't grab stuff, she didn't have to wear 
the basket muzzle.  One goof up and back on went the muzzle.  
After a while, she knew that if she was good, she wouldn't have 
to wear it.  If she wasn't, she would.  The bummer was we left it 
on a plane.  But it was quite effective, and it did get us 
through the worst of her picking stuff up.  After she retired, 
she carried a stuffed monkey around with her all the time.  So 
there could be something to giving her something she will carry.  
Not sure paper towel is such a great idea, dough.  She'll 
eventually eat the paper.    Peace,    Debby and Nova